Tag Archives: Westin Churchill

Glacier Kings Earn First Point

Leave a comment

It was another shaky beginning for the Comox Valley Glacier Kings but they battled back and earned a point in their 3-2 OT loss to the Campbell River Storm on Saturday. It was giveaways that killed Comox Valley in the opening frame. It started when Storm forward Armaan Punn stole the puck from Haden Parker and backhanded the puck in front of the net. The puck would glance off Kingston Gowans’ skate and into his own net just 3:12 into the home opener.

Just 1:07 later, another defensive zone turnover would prove costly. Glacier Kings defenceman Maxim Lefebvre got the puck stuck in between his skates in his own slot and Campbell River’s Dylan Toth dug it out and fired it past Timothee Fengos and it was quickly 2-0 just 4:19 into the first period.

Comox wasn’t about to fold the tent however. Westin Churchill would win an offensive zone draw. Joel Schmidt won the puck battle at the side boards and got it back to Thomas Scobie-Gyug who walked into the faceoff dot and beat goaltender Luc Gravel to the far side with a wrist shot. That made it 2-1.

The Storm had a terrific chance to go back up by 2 goals when Elliott Turgeon was sent in on a breakaway but was stoned by Fengos who squeezed his pads just in time.

The second period may not have had any scoring but it was exciting from a fan’s perspective. Both teams had scoring opportunities but Campbell River had more of the Grade ‘A’ chances but Fengos stood tall stopping everything that came his way in that middle stanza.

That set up an exciting 3rd period. The Yeti would tie the game when Westin Churchill received a pass from Landen May at centre ice and raced down the right side, took the defenceman with him and backhanded the puck in front of the net to Zaya Morro. He was slashed by Emmanuel Grenier to cause a delayed penalty. However, the loose puck slid to the side of the net and Churchill poked it home to make it 2-2.

There were so many chances in the 3rd period with Comox getting the better of the opportunities but both goalies were fantastic. And yes, it was fitting that the contest would go to OT. The Storm owned the puck for most of the extra period and won the game when Thomas Curri circled at his own blue line skated all the way down the left wing and beat Fengos from a bad angle.

On the bright side, Comox Valley picked up their first point of the season. They showed a lot of heart after being down early once again. This is the kind of effort that could turn things around. They have shown to be a good 3rd period team, now they need to learn how to get off to a better start. We’ll see if they can come out of the dressing room stronger on Friday for a home date against the Oceanside Generals. Have a great day everyone.

Other Observations

  • Unfortunately the audio didn’t work on FloHockey so I had to do play by play in my head.
  • This is the GKings 3rd straight home opener against Campbell River. The Storm are now 3-0.
  • I really believe Campbell River won 80% of the faceoffs. It was mind-numbing.
  • With just under 6 minutes left in the 3rd period, Holden Smith tripped Maxim Lefebvre as he took a pass and was behind the defenceman in front of the net. The referees got together to discuss if it was a tripping penalty or a penalty shot.  Unfortunately they chose to go with a 2 minute minor.
  • Comox forward Leon Mikhalchuk had an unreal dangle around a defenceman and then the goalie only to backhand it wide.
  • The Glacier Kings played without a captain again. It is unknown when Curtis Toneff will be naming one.
  • The 3rd period Saturday was the first time Comox has outscored an opponent in any period this season.
  • Next Friday’s home game will be the first of only 4 home games the Glacier Kings will play on a Friday this season.
  • It is nice to see Dave Dueck back for another season as the public address announcer. Not only is he great on the P.A., he is even a better person.

That’s it for today. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Darryl Skender

Glacier Kings Drop Opener

Leave a comment

The Nanaimo Buccaneers got their 2025/26 season off to a good start as they downed the Comox Valley Glacier Kings 4-2 on Saturday. The game was scoreless over halfway through the second period when Madden Cruickshank opened the the scoring for Nanaimo on the power play. It started with Jack Barrett feeding Ethan Nordli on a cross-ice pass at the blue line. Nordli quickly gave it to Cruickshank at the face dot who ripped a wrist shot up high, short side to make it 1-0. The Glacier Kings would counter just 2:48 later when Joel Schmidt sent a rink wide pass through the neutral zone to Cohen Kallin who carried the puck over the blue line and took a wrist shot from the top of the left circle. Goaltender Aaron Pichette made a stick save but the puck would ricochet up in the air and Maxim Lefebvre knocked it out of the air and into the net. The goal was credited to Kallin unassisted but it was Lefebvre at the right side of the net who scored. The Bucs would then score 3 consecutive times, two late in the second and again in the third before Comox would answer. Nanaimo dominated a lot of the second period outshooting the Glacier Kings 16-6. With the score 4-1 midway through the third period, and the Glacier Kings on a power play, Lucas Dionne checked Kingston Gowans up high and took a roughing penalty to give the Yeti a 5 on 3 for 1:10. Head coach Curtis Toneff took the opportunity to take a timeout and it paid off.  A beautiful Tic-Tac-Toe play would pull the GKings within 2. From the right hash, Westin Churchill passed the puck back to the point to Evan Marko who quickly got it to the side of the net to Isaac Dunsire. The Courtenay native would one-time a cross-crease pass to Zaya Moro who buried it into the open net. Marko should have been credited with a second assist but wasn’t on the official game sheet. Comox Valley would have more chances, including a couple more power play opportunities but Pichette closed the door. All in all, it was a good third frame for the Glacier Kings but they fell short.

The game was physical at times, some clean, some not so clean. Comox was 1 for 7 on the PP while Nanaimo went 2 for 4. Timothee Fengos stopped stopped 30 of pucks sent his way while Aaron Pichette blocked 21 of 23.

The Glacier Kings next action is Friday in Saanich. The Predators are coming off a 7-3 victory over the Kerry Park Islanders on Friday. Travis Swanson had a hat trick in that one. He also potted a couple of goals in pre-season. As for the Bucs, they travel to Westshore on Wednesday. The Wolves lost 7-2 to Peninsula on Friday.

Other Observations

  • This is the 3rd year in a row that the Glacier Kings have lost their season opener. Last time they won their first game was 2022-23 when they beat the Westshore Wolves 5-2 at the Q Centre.
  • The first period of last night’s game wasn’t shown on FloHockey due to technical problems.
  • Going back to pre-season action, Zaya Morro has scored in 3 straight games.
  • It was nice to see Larenzo Jensen back behind the microphone. Larenzo has also helped out with a lot of Nanaimo Clippers broadcasts in the past as well.
  • It only took the Glacier Kings 17 seconds to score on their 5 on 3.
  • The announced crowd at the NIC on Saturday was 355. That was their biggest crowd since September 6th, 2018. That was also their season opener when they beat Campbell River 3-1. The announced crowd that night was 370.
  • During the game, I was texting with Comox Valley owner Marsha Webb and former Campbell River Storm play by play broadcaster Mark Berry. One of the reasons I started a blog again was because I was missing the hockey community.
  • This was the first time since 2015 that the Glacier Kings opened their season against Nanaimo. They have started against Campbell River the majority of the times before this. In case you’re wondering, the Buccaneers won that game 4-3 in OT.

That’s it for today, have a great rest of your weekend!

Darryl Skender